In order to train a dog to stop barking or to stop any other undesirable behavior, the first step is to get the dog's attention. The most obvious way to do this is by means of a pain producing stimulus such as an electrical shock. Many devices have been developed in the past which perform this function automatically, using either a microphone to detect barking or a radio receiver to detect remotely transmitted commands, either of which then actuate the stimulus producing circuitry which is typically mounted on a dog collar. Such devices are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,589,337, 3,777,712, 4,202,293, and 4,335,682. All of these devices use an electrical shock to produce pain in order to teach the dog to avoid undesirable behavior. The theory of classical conditioning says that when a certain behavior is repeatedly paired with an unpleasant stimulus, the animal will learn to avoid that behavior even after the unpleasant stimulus is removed. The use of electrical shocks to produce pain for dog training, however, has been considered inhumane and fallen into disfavor.
In attempts to reduce the amount of painful shocking necessary to train a dog to avoid undesirable behaviors, electrical shocking devices have been modified to allow variable reduction of the voltage and current applied to the dog. Also, some devices have been modified to produce characteristic sounds which, after proper conditioning of the subject dog to be trained, are associated with the painful electrical shock by the dog. The sound stimulus can then be used alone to produce the desired alert response without the application of the painful electrical shock. Typical devices with the characteristic sound generating modifications are those shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,202,293 and 4,335,682.
All of the prior art uses shock mechanisms which produce alternating current electricity, at frequencies from hundreds of hertz up to a few kilohertz and at voltages up to a few kilovolts rms, to produce the pain needed to get the dog's attention. The pain the dog experiences is produced by the rms current which produces stimulation of the dog's pain nerves by heating of the dog's tissues. Inappropriately applied, either automatically by detecting the repeated barking of a high strung, hyperactive dog responding to the shock with more barking, or by repeated manual actuation of a remote transmitter by an angry trainer, the heating of the dog's tissues by the resulting flow of current can be enough to actually produce tissue burning and injury to the dog. Some of these devices have been recalled by the Federal government due to the injury potential to both the dog and anyone handling the dog at the time the shock was applied, which has been the primary motivation for the aforementioned modifications to reduce the amount of painful electrical shock needed for training.
Another disadvantage of the prior art devices associated with their shocking systems is due to the voltage levels used. The lower the voltage, the shorter distance over which it will arc to shock the dog. All of the prior art devices have shocking contact points which must be touching the dog's skin in order to shock the dog. As such, the collars upon which all of the prior art devices are mounted must be fitted very tightly with long protruding electrodes so that the shocking contact points will make good contact with the dog's skin. On long haired dogs, proper fitting can be very difficult. Also, as a dog runs, the device will slip on the dog's neck, making and breaking electrical contact as well as abrading the dog's neck where the contact points touch the skin. This causes abrasive injury to the dog wearing the collar as well as rendering the device incapable of shocking the dog.
Another disadvantage of the prior art devices is that they all require special test equipment to allow the user to determine if they are indeed shocking properly, with no built in test equipment to indicate if shocking will occur when triggered properly.
Further disadvantages of the prior art devices are that they are susceptible to false triggering, reacting to sounds other than the barking of the dog wearing the bark activated device, or reacting to radio interference in the remotely controlled embodiments, and unjustly shock the dog. Further, in the bark activated embodiments, the dog's barking as a result of receiving shock produces more shocking which produces more barking, which may lead to injury. In the remote controlled embodiment, an angry trainer can easily abuse his dog by continuously transmitting the shock activating signals which cause the collar to continuously shock the dog, which may also cause injury. Also in the remotely controlled embodiments, they are electronically activated by contact plugs which may be lost, may corrode and not conduct, and/or may collect non-conductive dog dander, hair or body oils which render them non-conductive while on the dog.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus for dog training utilizing high voltage, low current, short duration pulses of current for stimulating the dog's nervous system but having insufficient energy to cause injury to the dog.
It is a still further object to provide a dog training apparatus mountable on a dog collar which imparts a limited number of shock pulses to the dog during a single triggering event with an automatic delay period which must elapse before another triggering event is effective to produce another set of shock pulses.
It is a further object to provide a dog training apparatus mountable on a dog collar which imparts shock pulses to the dog through electrodes which require neither contact with the dog's skin nor tight fit of the collar in order to eliminate the possibility of abrasive injury to the dog.
It is a further object to provide a dog training apparatus with a visible arc to allow the user to determine proper or improper operation without the use of special test equipment.
It is a further object to provide a dog training apparatus that in the remotely controlled version is activated by means of secure mechanism inherent in a detachable antenna.
It is a further object to provide a dog training apparatus that will minimize the possibility of false triggering. In either a bark activated embodiment, or a remotely controlled embodiment.